It has long been known that performance skills of an individual can degrade in highly stressful environments. This can be due to a large number of factors. Stress ordinarily produces a psychological response. Such a response creates an immediate reaction to a stressor, what is known as a “flight or fight” response. The body perceives a stressor as a threat or danger and releases stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones enable the body to perform activities beyond the range of normal ability, however these same hormones may also cause important details to be missed. During an emergency situation in an aircraft, this effect could lead to incorrect decisions being made, and therefore potentially catastrophic loss of life due to incorrect actions being taken.
A typical modern aircraft flight deck includes a primary flight display device and a combined autopilot/auto-throttle controller. The controller is mounted on the flight panel, below the windshield, in a vertical line with the primary flight display. This generally applies to larger aircraft, as many smaller aircraft still rely on a manual power/thrust control.
Basic types of flight instruments are found on virtually all aircraft, and are most often arranged in a typical manner in two rows of three. In this typical arrangement, the top central instrument is an artificial horizon. This instrument gives a pilot information that tells the pilot(s) how the aircraft is flying relative to an artificial horizon that appears on the instrument. Immediately below the artificial horizon instrument is a heading indicator, which tells the pilot what direction the aircraft is heading. To the right of the artificial horizon is an altimeter, which tells the pilot whether a plane is ascending, descending, or remaining at a steady altitude. To the left of the artificial horizon is an airspeed indicator. This gives the speed of the airplane relative to the outside air. To the right of the directional or heading indicator is a vertical speed indicator. This indicates the rate of climbs or descents. To the left of the heading indicator is a turn and bank indicator. This instrument is below the airspeed indicator. This tells the pilot whether the plane is level or banking, and whether the nose and tail of the aircraft are aligned with the direction of travel.
While there may be variations among these instruments, all are found in most modern aircraft and, when used properly, give sufficient flight performance information to the pilot(s) of the aircraft. Because of the critical need for appropriate instrument scanning and cross-checking, a variety of devices are used to assist the pilot(s) to fly the aircraft. In addition to the aforementioned stressors and a pilot's potential lack of experience, a situation such as an incorrect engine shutdown may occur. A recent example of this scenario occurred resulting in the loss of a TransAsia Airways ATR 72-600 on Feb. 4, 2015. The aircraft involved in the accident experienced an in-flight malfunction of the right engine. While troubleshooting the issue, the pilots attempted to shut down the malfunctioning (right) engine. However, the pilots mistakenly shut down the left engine, which was operating normally. This resulted in a loss of all thrust and an immediate descent by the aircraft. Realizing their mistake, the pilots attempted to restart the left engine. There was insufficient time to complete the restart process prior to reaching ground level. The aircraft stuck a vehicle bridge before coming to rest in a river resulting in substantial damage and loss of life.
As a result of the above-mentioned problem, inventors have attempted a number of ways to better provide pilots with the details of an emergency situation. One invention is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,777 by Hall, which shows an invention related generally to the field of aircraft safety and more particularly to a system for instantly, clearly and precisely identifying the engine on which performance is degraded so that corrective and emergency safety measures may be undertaken. Hall's invention provides two main elements: (1) a detection system for determining when an engine has failed; (2) a light indicator located on the propeller control. Addressing part one, the current application is only an indication system. It does not provide a detection mechanism. However, Hall's detection system may provide a link between the system described in this patent and engines located on light aircraft, as many light aircraft are not currently equipped with a failure detection system. Addressing part two, Hall's light on the propeller control does overlap the new idea. However, Hall's system only indicates failures and/or loss of thrust, not fire or other conditions. Furthermore, Hall's system is limited to indications on the propeller controls, whereas the patent described here encompasses indication on multiple engine related systems and controls.
Despite this earlier work, there is still no adequate system for aiding pilots of aircrafts to engage the correct aircraft controls, thereby avoiding a potentially disastrous situation.
The current invention provides (a) light indicators for all primary engine controls (throttle and propeller controls) and many secondary controls; not just propeller controls. (b) The current invention includes a shutdown sequence with colored lights when needed. (c) The current invention includes push-to-cancel buttons for secondary lights, (d) The current invention provides optional feedback to the Flight Data Recorder (FDR), and (e) The current invention works with all multi-engine aircraft, not only propeller driven aircraft.